Moral victories don’t win you trophies, or add three points to the total in the standings. They don’t get you into the postseason come end of the season, or make you feel all that much better about losing. However, sometimes, moral victories are actually something to be happy about. For example, when you have a new head coach in his first road match of the season, in just his third overall match in the NWSL, going up against one of the best teams in the league and definitely the most potent attack at the moment, but still coming away with conceding just one goal in a match that showed a lot of promise for the future of his team. That is when a moral victory can be a good thing. Add to that context, there will be a month-long break to really get to work on building the foundation for the vision forward, and the performance Angel City put in against KC Current this past weekend, doesn’t look so bad, even if the result isn’t what anyone wanted.
Ready to regroup.#Volemos | #NWSL | #KCvLA | #AngelCityFC pic.twitter.com/G4nntT3Kqe
— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) June 21, 2025
This was very much one of those matches that had everyone hoping for the best, but planning for the absolute worst. This wasn’t just one of, if not the best team in the NWSL right now, this was also the most potent attack. A team that came into this match having scored a combined 14 goals in their previous five matches, going up against an Angel City team that had, to put it mildly, struggled defensively as of late. Which makes what they did in the first half all that more impressive.
The plan coming into this one for Los Angeles was easier said than done, they wanted to tighten up defense and not allow an early goal, by any means necessary. Those means came at the expense of their attack, with Angel City finishing the half with zero shots. Yes, you read that right, not a single shot the entire half, and it was definitely for a lack of trying. The team very obviously was all about the defense, and as odd as it may have been to watch, it worked perfectly. It wasn’t like KC were getting off shot after shot, either. The fabled attack finished the half with just five shots of their own, with just two finding the target.
“We come to this stadium where there are a lot of goals being scored in the first half, but they score a lot of goals here, and they are the best team in the league” said Head Coach Alex Straus after the match. “At the same time, we have let in too many goals in so far this season that is what has been bothering us. I don’t think that many teams have come here and given them so many problems.” It was clear that the fluid backline Angel City ran, had KC a bit confused, which put Angel City in an excellent position to smash and grab a stunning result in the second half.
That big opportunity came in the 56th minute when Alyssa Thompson earned a penalty with a foul on her in the box. It was a massive chance for LA to take the lead fairly early in the second half, and really put the pressure on a Current side that really had no answer for their defense at that point. Unfortunately, it was a shot that wasn’t the greatest, mixed with an excellent save from KC keeper, Lorena.
🗣️ LORENAAA
KC’S BRICK WALL MAKES THE PK SAVE!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) June 20, 2025 at 6:37 PM
The failed conversion was a bit of a turning point. It seemed to briefly take the wind out of the sails for Angel City, and really woke up KC who wasted no time in taking advantage of the missed penalty by the visitors. In the 69th minute KC was able to get the ball up to a sprinting Temwa Chawinga who breezed past the defense and was on goal in a 1v1 with ACFC keeper, Angelina Anderson. The latter did an excellent job to save the initial shot on goal, but unfortunately the LA defense couldn’t find a way to get to the rebound, and the ball trickled into the open field where Bia Zaneratto got on it and immediately took a second bite at the apple, putting it past Anderson for the goal, the lead, and what would eventually be, the winner.
Making it look easy 😮💨
Temwa Chawinga makes the run and Bia Zaneratto’s got the rebound to put KC on the board!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) June 20, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Credit to Angel City, the goal could’ve been the opening of the floodgates, but the team did well to shake off conceding and remained stout defensively as to not concede another. While the loss stings, it was by far the best overall performance we have seen from LA under Straus, and it was one of the better performances we have seen from them all season. “I’m really, really proud of our team today. It’s by far, one of the best performances of this year, if you look at the stats and who you are playing against” said Straus when speaking to media. “This is the start of our process now. We go from here, we break now, recharge, and we will be a very difficult opponent for a lot of teams in the second part of the season.” With a month break ahead, now will be the team for the team to get healthier as Jun Endo, Ali Riley could return to action, and to start getting familiar with life under Alex Straus. There is still plenty to play for, and half the season left. Now, the work truly begins.
Thoughts on the loss? Leave a comment below!